Newspaper reporter is a great job. But it's a terrible way to make a living anymore. The paper here in the town I live in (as opposed to the one where I work, 20 miles up the road) is now staffed almost entirely by recent college graduates. My guess is that two people on the entire staff are older than 25. Cheapest newsroom around and the product reflects that. And you can bet that most of that staff will move on within the year and be replaced with even cheaper talent.